Seventeen cycling schemes in Harrogate and six in Knaresborough feature in North Yorkshire Council’s new list of priority projects – but Ripon, Boroughbridge, Pateley Bridge and Masham all miss out.

The council published its list of 96 proposed cycling schemes today (October 20), ahead of a meeting of its environment directorate on October 28.

It describes the routes in a report as the “basis for delivering a cohesive and holistic cycling network” across North Yorkshire.

However, inclusion on the list does not mean the schemes are guaranteed to be built. The council says the priorities will help it develop projects and take advantage of future funding opportunities, with no funding currently available for the programme.

Station gateway

Only two of Harrogate’s 17 projects are classified as short-term, meaning they are intended for delivery within three years.

One is the Station Gateway project, which incorporates a short, unconnected cycle route on Station Parade into a wider £14.6 million regeneration scheme.

The other is a package of sustainable transport measures that have already been announced.

Knaresborough has just one short-term scheme: a so-called “missing link” connecting the existing cycle route on the A59 with High Bridge over the River Nidd.

The remaining projects are categorised as medium or long-term, depending on their anticipated timescale.

Medium-term schemes are those expected to take three to five years, while long-term projects are scheduled for more than five years.

Other routes identified in Harrogate include Wetherby Road, Oatlands Drive and Ripon Road. In Knaresborough, the list includes schemes on Chain Lane and Grimbald Crag Way.

The full list of 96 schemes is set out below.

Why has Ripon been left out?

The omission of Ripon comes after the city completed a Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan in January 2025.

That plan identified seven schemes, including a proposed route linking the city centre with Fountains Abbey.

None of those seven projects appears on the council’s new priority list.

The local infrastructure plans were developed over several years to identify opportunities to improve walking, wheeling and cycling. 

The new list is intended to establish which routes the council should focus on developing further.

But for campaigners and residents hoping to see long-promised improvements, the priority list raises questions about which projects will ultimately progress – and when.

Questions over delivery

Although Harrogate and Knaresborough have secured places on the list, there is no guarantee that their proposed routes will be delivered.

The council has yet to secure funding for the schemes, and its record on delivering active travel improvements has attracted criticism.

In its latest website post, campaign group Harrogate District Cycle Action said:

“North Yorkshire Council made promises of action on active travel for a decade, while achieving very little. After the Yorkshire Showground Greenway in 2014, nothing meaningful was achieved.”

The new list is intended to help the authority develop projects through feasibility studies, detailed design and, ultimately, construction – putting it in a position to pursue funding when opportunities arise.

Report author and transport planning officer Nathan Harding said:

For now, however, the inclusion of a route on the list is a statement of priority rather than a commitment to build it.

With no funding secured, residents and cycling campaigners will be watching to see whether the council’s latest plans lead to improvements on the ground – and why towns such as Ripon have been left without any of their identified schemes included.